MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning. The President had his
usual briefings at the ranch this morning. He also received a further
update on I guess now Tropical Storm Jeanne and its impact on Florida.
Yesterday -- I think some people are aware of this -- he spoke with
FEMA Director Mike Brown and received an update from him on the
response and recovery efforts. And he also spoke with Governor Bush to
get an update from his perspective.

When we land, we have a -- the first event will be a "Focus on
Education with President Bush." The four participants will include a
superintendent, the Ohio Teacher of the Year, a parent of a special ed
student and a business leader who is a member of the Ohio Business
Roundtable.

And then this afternoon, following that, he'll make remarks at a
Victory 2004 rally. And we will return to Crawford for the evening.
And that's all I've got.

MR. McCLELLAN: He'll be talking about No Child Left Behind. This
is a conversation. He'll be talking about how the No Child Left Behind
reforms that we passed are working to improve our public schools. I
mean, Ohio is an example where I think over -- in the last year,
they've seen an 8 percent increase in the number of schools meeting the
adequate yearly progress threshold. And so more schools are performing
better.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you'll be there to cover it. Like I said,
it's a conversation, so I suspect he will talk some about the war on
terrorism, on Iraq. Maybe he'll touch on the debates, as well, or the
upcoming debate.

Q Can you clarify whether Karl Rove knew in advance about the
phone ads? The President was --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, he didn't.

Q No, he didn't.

MR. McCLELLAN: We've already said that, yes.

Q Well, the President was noncommittal in the Fox interview.

MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't look at it quite that way. We checked
into that a long time ago, all those issues, and we've already
previously made clear there was absolutely zero coordination.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I mean, I think that was
talking about things the Pentagon and the Army are looking at. Our
commanders and military leaders will do what is necessary to make sure
we win the war on terrorism. And so one of the issues that they take
into careful consideration is the deployment of our troops. And
certainly our troops are making tremendous sacrifices in the war on
terrorism. We remain a nation at war. Their families are making
tremendous sacrifices. And so these are always things that our
military leaders are looking at.

Q Would the President like to see more troops on the ground in
January than the 135,000 now?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think you heard from our commander of the
region, General Abizaid, about that very issue. And we've always said
that we will make sure that our troops have all the resources they
need, and we will look to our commanders in the field and our military
leaders to make the determinations about what levels of troops are
needed to meet our commitments and complete the mission. There has not
been any request for additional troops. The military leaders have told
us that they have what they need at this point. But that's something
that we always look to the commanders on the ground and our military
leaders to determine.

Q It's still not clear what the administration's stand is on
whether elections that are partial in Iraq would count as elections
that could go forward in January. If not --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's -- I mean, I think everybody -- Prime
Minister Allawi has made it clear that he wanted elections where all
Iraqis could participate and it would be for all of Iraq. We are
committed to free and fair elections throughout Iraq. We want all
Iraqis to be able to participate in the election. And that's what
we're all working toward.

Q But what if it's not possible?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's what we're all working toward, as Prime
Minister Allawi reiterated over the weekend again, free and fair
elections throughout Iraq. For the first time, the Iraqi people are
determining their future, and for the first time, the Iraqi people are
moving toward free elections. And we will stand with them every step
of the way.

Q It seemed as if Secretary Powell kind of contradicted the
President in saying that things were getting worse there, when of
course the President has been saying all along that things are --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think he's said exactly what we've been saying
for quite some time. Secretary Powell was talking about an increase in
violence associated with efforts to disrupt the election process. And
we have, for a long time, said that we expect an uptick in violence as
we move closer to elections. The terrorists recognize how high the
stakes are in Iraq. They want to shake our will, but they cannot.
They will be defeated. They recognize that we are approaching a
decisive moment in Iraq, and that is the -- that is free and fair
elections by the end of January.

And we are working very closely, as partners with the interim
government in Iraq, to address the ongoing security threats. It's hard
work transitioning to democracy. And there remain difficulties along
the path to democracy and peace in Iraq. But we are there to support
the Iraqi people every step of the way.

Q So he wasn't off message?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, he said what we've said for a long time. He
was talking about it in association with the elections.

Q As we boarded the plane this morning, oil prices were nearing
$50 a barrel. Is the administration concerned about this, and could
there be any more requests to release oil from the SPR for --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the Department of Energy said there may be
other requests from those who are refiners. I mean, they've talked
about some loans that they will be providing.

Q This is in addition --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the Department of Energy, over the
weekend, said they didn't rule out additional requests may be coming to
them. But I don't have any update on that. I mean, obviously it's
always something we keep a close eye on, in terms of the price. But if
you're talking about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that should not
be used to manipulate prices or for political purposes. It's for
national emergencies or physical disruptions in the supply.

And that's all the more reason that -- a subject you bring up --
it's all the more reason why we need a national energy plan. And
Senator Kerry has been one of the leaders in the Senate who has blocked
our plans for a comprehensive national energy strategy that will lead
to energy self-sufficiency here at home.

Q But if it hits $50 a barrel, that's an all-time high and a
psychological point --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sure you'll ask me about it if it does.

Q Does it raise concerns about the economy, that it's getting
so close to that level?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I mean, the economy continues to move forward
because of the actions this President has taken. Obviously, there are
things that can have an impact on it and you keep an eye on those
issues, like rising oil prices. They have come down recently; they've
gone back up a little bit more recently. But it's something we always
keep an eye on.

But the economy continues to move forward and it's continuing to
grow because of the actions that we took. And this President will
continue to act to create an even more robust environment for job
growth. That's why passing a comprehensive energy plan is one of his
highest priorities, along with the other six points of his plan for
strengthening our economy.

Q So can we expect him to be testing out any new -- any debate
themes today at all?

MR. McCLELLAN: Can you expect? No, I think what you -- you may
hear him talk a little bit about the debate since it's coming up on
Thursday. But in terms of new themes, you all keep a close eye on
things. I'm not going to get into any of that.

Q How are the debate preparation sessions going? Are you in on
them? Are you --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he had one Saturday night that lasted a
couple of hours. And then more of a working session yesterday where
they went through some questions. The President knows he's going up
against the most skilled debater he has ever faced. Senator Kerry has
been preparing -- preparing and practicing for this all his life, from
the time he was in prep school to being a star debater for his Ivy
League school, to being a prosecutor, to spending 20 years on the floor
of the Senate debating the issues. And I expect the President will do
fine but he's up against a very formidable debater.

Q Are these all-day prep sessions or is he still getting out
around the ranch, doing --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, he did some mountain bike riding. He tends to
get in fishing when he's there on a -- pretty much a daily basis. But
he's also been tending to official business, particularly focused on
Hurricane Jeanne and the devastation that it has left, the fourth
hurricane to hit Florida. So our thoughts and prayers remain with the
people of Florida during this difficult period that they've been
through. And we'll continue to work to make sure that all -- that
we're doing everything we can at the federal level to coordinate the
response and recovery efforts.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we do go to Miami that night, and I said that
there may well be a stop along the way. So there's nothing to update
on the schedule at this point.

Q We're going to a pretty Republican part of Ohio. Are there
any kind of shifts going on there, anything developing that you all are
paying particular attention to right now?

MR. McCLELLAN: In terms of?

Q Just the campaign --

MR. McCLELLAN: I mean, the President is fighting hard to win Ohio,
and recent polls have indicated growing support for the President's
campaign, but we're taking nothing for granted. We expect not only
will the election be close nationally, it will be close in Ohio and I
expect the President will not only talk about education but talk about
the economic situation in Ohio as well. Ohio is an area that has
continued to face some difficult challenges as we work our way out of
the recession and the September 11th attacks that occurred, and it cost
a lot of jobs in its aftermath.

The economy is moving forward, but in Ohio -- but in Ohio there is
still more to do, and it's an area where manufacturing jobs have been
lost as well. And the President, I expect, will talk about how we're
in a changing economy and we need to make sure that workers have the
skills they need for the 21st century to fill the high-paying,
high-skill jobs that are available. And education is key to future
economic growth.

Q Former President Carter has been raising concerns about the
voting in this country and problems with that. Does the White House
share concerns about that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Share concerns about what, specifically? I haven't
seen exactly what he said.

Q About problems with voting, the mechanics of voting.

MR. McCLELLAN: That's always -- I mean, that's always a high
priority for anyone who is in office, to make sure that we have the
best possible election process.

Q But are you confident in the process this year?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I mean, the election -- I think Virginia has
maybe started voting. I think they're the only state that I think has
started this early with some early voting --

Q No, no, no. Are you confident that the infrastructure is in
place, that everything will be fair --

MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking state by state. Each state has
different systems in place.

Q But he raised some broad concerns about the system.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, like I said, I haven't seen exactly what he
said. Maybe I'll take a look at it. But, yes, we are confident about
the election process in this country.

Q There has been some talk today in the networks about how the
rules for these debates this year are so much more circumspect than
past years. Are there any restrictions that the President regrets?
Does he wish he could come out from behind the podium or --

MR. McCLELLAN: These were issues that were discussed between the
two campaign teams.

Q Yes.

MR. McCLELLAN: These were matters that were worked out between
Vernon Jordan and Secretary Baker and that's what both campaigns agreed
to, and so that's what we're operating under.

Q So he doesn't think anything is going to hamper him or --

MR. McCLELLAN: There are clear choices in this election. And this
debate is an opportunity for the President to talk about the clear
choices that we face going forward. There are clear choices in the war
on terrorism. The President has a strategy for success. Senator Kerry
has a strategy of retreat and defeat, and he will -- the President will
be talking about those issues.

The American people will know very clearly where the President
stands on the most important issues, and the same can't be said about
Senator Kerry. And so it's an opportunity to talk about the clear
choices that we face for the future. That's what this race should be
about and that's what the President will talk about.

Obviously, there's a limit to the amount of time that each person
has to respond to the questions and then rebut the -- rebut their
opponent. But the President, like I said, looks forward to it.